Shamina is 28 years old, is married and has two children. Before they joined the ‟Sheuliˮ Gono Kendra, the family solely relied on their husbandʼs salary, which was insufficient to support them. However, through the Gono Kendra Shamina obtained a loan of 2000 Taka (≈ 170 Kr). With these money, she bought a second-hand sewing machine and began to earn from sewing.
In her Gono Kendra, Shamina had also learned how to raise livestock, and her sewing income both allowed her to pay back the loan and buy a goat and chickens. Later she sold the goat and the chickens and bought a cow instead. As a consequence, the family now has a sufficient income.
Shaminaʼs story illustrates how communal cooperation results in socially and economical empowerment for women and engenders a more prosperous state for them and their families as well as the whole community.